VeriSign's Sclavos: "enable and protect interaction"

A slogan of the multinational VeriSign is: "enable and protect interaction." To this end, the company focuses on security and authentication, but also on guaranteeing the stability of the Web domain system. According to its president, Stratton Sclavos, "It is unclear how governments are evolving on issues of identification." In an interview with Navegante, Sclavos explained his new universal identification system for the Web, called VIP. This comes at a time when Spain is betting on the Internet with its new electronic NID (National Identification Document).

Stratton Sclavos outlines VeriSign's approach to threats, solutions and the ICANN Domain names comntroversy in a major interview for Spain on 29th March 2006

New Denial of Service Attacks Worry Security Industry

There is a new kind of denial-of-service (DoS) attack hitting the Internet these days, and it has the internet security industry very worried.

The unusually powerful attacks strike at the basic structure of the Net, exploiting the computers that manage online traffic and using them to overwhelm Web sites. The effects are similar to more traditional DoS attacks, but the newer technique by hackers is far more potent because it launches using fewer hacked computers and the ensuing attack is easily amplified to be far more overwhelming.

VeriSign today (20 March 2006) announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire m-Qube, a leading mobile channel enabler that helps companies develop, deliver and bill for mobile content, applications and messaging services.

Where Has All the Trust Gone?
By Elizabeth Glagowski, Managing Editor

It's one thing to say trust is important to customer relationships, it's another to have the numbers to back it up. A new report from Datamonitor pinpoints where companies have lost ground, and offers suggestions on how to win trust back.

According to the report, "Building and Profiting from Consumer Trust," 86 percent of the 3,200 U.S. and European consumers surveyed said that they have become more distrustful of corporations within the past five years. The report also shows that companies are aware of this drop, with 64 percent of industry leaders agreeing that consumer trust in brands has decreased in the past two years.

What's the Deal With Seals?
By Don Peppers and Martha Rogers, Ph.D.

In the nascent days of the Web, consumers jumped from destination to destination with little concern about privacy. Yet even before the media alerted the masses to the twin scourges of identity theft and information brokering, TRUSTe was on the case with its Web privacy seal. Nine years later the firm is working on the tenth iteration of its standards agreement.

One question remains, however: Do consumers truly pay attention to such seals? And if so, does the absence of a seal make consumers think twice about entering their personal data or ordering a product?

VeriSign the leading provider of intelligent infrastructure services for the Internet and telecommunications networks, today (13 March 2006) announced it is entering the Broadband Content Services market to provide rich digital media over IP networks. VeriSign also announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Kontiki, a leading provider of managed peer delivery systems for high-quality video, software and digital content.

Chip & PIN? No - Mid Counties Co-op uses Biometrics

With all the major need for strong authentication, true recognition of the user, and discussions about tokens and similar things, this story caught our eye. The question is, "Is this the future?" And we will only start to know when the 16 week trial of Finger Print Payment Processing at the UK's Mid Counties Co-op's Oxford store is complete.

Pay By Touch is an innovative payment service which enables consumers to pay for their purchases using their finger rather than a card, cheque book or cash. The payment service will be available in three Midcounties Co-op supermarkets in and around Oxford.

Refer a Friend Scheme Legality

It was always clear, unless people wanted to try to take liberties, that a “Refer a Friend by Email” scheme was both within the letter and the spirit of both the Data Protection Act and the eCommerce regulations. It's just that people didn't understand how to implement the scheme properly.

The Sad Confusion of SPAM and Viruses

There has long been an argument that an ISP should scan email for known virus patterns and that quarantining those emails found to contain them would all but eliminate anything except zero day viruses and the like. ISPs have long resisted because they see that as infringing their customers' right to privacy.

Compliance and Privacy has now found an instance of an ISP petting very confused. between what is SPAM and what is a virus

Durant to Take Case to Strasbourg

Michael Durant, seen by some as a campaigner for strong and correct enforcement of the United Kingdom Data Protection Act 1998, but in reality a man fighting for justice, failed to convince the UK courts of his case.

He will now be seeking leave to take his case to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

VericChips Implanted at CityWatcher.com

Controversy has broken out over the VeriChip – a human implantable Radio Frequency ID (RFID) chip manufactured by the VeriChip Corporation – after reports that CityWatcher.com, a Cincinnati based security and surveillance corporation now requires employees to use VeriChip human implantable microchips to enter a secure data centre

VeriSign to Acquire 3united Mobile Solutions ag

VeriSign today (13 February 2006) announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire 3united Mobile Solutions ag (3united), a leading wireless applications service provider based in Vienna, Austria. VeriSign gans one of Europe's Leading Providers of Mobile Applications Available To More Than 400 Million Subscribers Worldwide

VeriSign, the leading provider of intelligent infrastructure services for the Internet and telecommunications networks, today (10 February 2006) announced the VeriSign Fraud Detection Service, a new solution that forms part of VeriSign's overall layered authentication solution targeted at preventing online identity theft. In support of this new service, VeriSign has also reached a definitive agreement to acquire Snapcentric, Inc , a provider of online fraud detection solutions using advanced anomaly detection technology. The newly acquired technology will be a key addition to VeriSign's suite of authentication solutions, providing an invisible layer of protection against online fraud.

Stronger is Better

According to the latest figures from the Department of Trade & Industry, eight out of ten UK firms offer its employees the option of working from home for at least part of their working day. As the UK heads towards a more mobile workforce, this number bodes well for the economy's ability to integrate a more diverse range of people whose personal circumstances mean they may otherwise be left out.

Moreover, the penetration of key technologies in the UK means working from home is now more feasible than ever before. Over 27 million people have access to the Internet in the UK while, according to BT, there are 9.8 million broadband subscribers.

So surely these should be happy days for UK Plc? That would be the case were it not for the enormous security implications that arise as a result of home workers – as well as customers and partners – trying to access corporate networks via the internet.

Businesses Disregard Penetration Tests, Risk Attack

Along with the The Confederation of British Industry, the CBI, Compliance and Privacy has found that its own survey on business vulnerability shows great apathy. We learnt today [2 February 2006] that the CBI is urging medium-sized firms to have robust security systems to prevent online attacks

According to a recent CBI survey, 60% of medium-sized firms engage with their suppliers, partners or clients online. But 52% of these firms plan for no security measures whatsoever

VeriSign today [24 January 2006] announced it will enhance its strong authentication service with the introduction of VeriSign® Unified Authentication – Smart Cards in the second quarter of 2006. VeriSign Unified Authentication – Smart Cards will provide enterprises and government agencies with an integrated, easy-to-use suite of management tools for smart card and PKI deployments, supporting a wide range of smart card types, workflows and deployments options.

VeriSign, Inc. the leading provider of intelligent infrastructure services for Internet and telecommunications networks, today [23 January 2006] announced it has been positioned by Gartner, Inc. in the leaders quadrant in the 2H05 North America Managed Security Services Providers (MSSP) Magic Quadrant. A full copy of the report has been made available for download by VeriSign, the sponsors of Complianceandprivacy.com

More and more companies are taking advantage of the possibilities offered by connecting external employees, customers and business partners to their corporate networks via the internet, making important information available to them. Users generally log on to corporate networks or applications with a username and a static password. But in the aftermath of the most recent phishing attacks, many companies no longer consider this type of authentication sufficient for their needs. The point is that if a third party gets hold of this access data, there is almost no way of checking who is actually logging on accessing corporate data.

SOX Whistleblowers Hotline Now Acceptable to the CNIL

The French people have a natural distaste for informers. Their history of wartime informers and collaborators has made it culturally challenging to accept an system which allows informers, especially anonymous informers, to have any platform where they can act. But Sarbanes Oxley requires Whistleblower hotlines. And the France needs US corporations who trade in their geography to continue to trade lawfully.

The US Department of Homeland Security "Cleans Up" Open Source

A huge number of US Government departments use many millions of lines of Open Source software as an integral part of their applications. How deeply embarrassing would it be if Open Source were a "spy in the office"? It's not just government applications that depend on Open Source. Businesses large and small worldwide depend on it for applications ranging form mundane to complex and esoteric.

VeriSign To Acquire CallVision

VeriSign, Inc. (Nasdaq: VRSN), the leading provider of intelligent infrastructure services for the Internet and telecommunications networks, today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Seattle-based CallVision, a leading provider of online analysis applications.

Inspiring Consumer Confidence: Know the scams

Shopping online offers immediate gratification for customers looking for ease and convenience - especially during the holidays. But just as e-commerce is growing year after year, your customers are also growing increasingly wary of Internet scams. By educating customers on the latest scams, and establishing your site as a trustworthy business, you can help inspire your potential customers to shop at your site with confidence.

We first brought news on the MiFID on 23rd November 2005. There was a major set of press articles and much informed comment. At that point we asked you what effect MiFID would have on you. After a month the overwhelming reaction, 62%, is "Huh? What is it?"

GE Gains First Binding Corporate Rules UK Approval

On Thursday 15th December 2005 GE was approved in the UK as the first ever organisation gaining UK approval for its Binding Corporate Rules to export data from the European Economic Area. As the first such approval GE is in the forefront of Data Privacy.

iDefense reports that the next planned attack of 2005's most prolific e-mail worm family, Sober, is scheduled to start on Jan. 5, 2006 based on commands hard-coded within the worm. The attack date coincides with the 87th anniversary of the founding of the Nazi party. Additionally, the attack could have a significantly detrimental effect on Internet traffic, as e-mail servers are flooded with politically motivated spam e-mails from potentially tens of millions of e-mail addresses.